Cybertime, The varieties of Cyberspace: Problems in Definition and Delimitation

The topics The Varieties of Cyberspace: Problems in Definition and Delimitation and Cybertime are both interrelated as is quite evident. Both of them are integral part of our lives. The computer is truly the place where our second selves dwell, a dreamscape. (Cybertime, p. 382). Most of us end up spending a major chunk of the time or rather the virtual time doing something or the other on cyberspace. It is however strange that virtual time eats a lot of our real time of the day. Cyberspace does encourage communication on a virtual level but at the same time it discourages one on the physical level. People these days are more comfortable communicating virtually than in reality. One can hardly find a kid who doesn’t know how to use an Ipad or an Iphone. We don’t get to see as many kids participating in outdoor sports as it used to be earlier, thanks to computers and other electronic gadgets! It’s ironic but this new form of communication has actually numbed the actual one to one communication. You go anywhere and you will find people hooked to their screens or phones. I remember visiting Starbucks, which offers free wifi service, and mostly everybody was glued to his/her screen, listening to songs, doing their work or playing games. Now, the place that’s supposed to encourage social interaction actually has turned into a one devoid of one.  Prof. Strate has very nicely described various orders or spaces and the various stages within each order. I couldn’t agree any less to the point put forward by Prof. Strate in The varieties of Cyberspace, that “Cyber space is everywhere, and through widening usage, threatens to become everything, the terms has become increasingly more vague and drained of meaning. (The varieties of Cyberspace, p.383). The whole topic was quite enriching and the one I could myself relate to.